Yes I Can! NO MORE PMS!

Recently I discovered something amazing which followed by a very honorable title.

You see, I’ve been assigned as one of the ambassadors for a campaign, called Yes, I Can campaign.

If you’ve read Kosmo and a few other websites, magazines, or papers, you probably might have come across a photo of me with two gorgeous parting the broadest of smiles, with fist clenched and thrust triumphantly in the air.


Taken from Kosmo


Shown in the photo was none other than the beauty queen Deborah Henry and TV wonder Julie Woon. And of course me, the blogger, at the middle.

The Yes, I Can campaign, partly in celebration of the 50 years of The Pill, seeks to explore the undeniable efficacy of the pill as a potent society shaper, in the prevention of unplanned pregnancy. Women can now choose and govern their lives, instead of subjecting themselves into unplanned “accidents” resulting from the womb.

This campaign is also particularly endearing to me on a personal level; as a serious PMS-sufferer myself.




I’ve been suffering from PMS ever since I hit puberty, and this might come across as a norm for many girls and perhaps nothing-out-of-the-ordinary news for many others. The effect has in fact, affected my life with significant damage.

Just think about it. Serious case of mood swings for one whole week before period: bloating, water retention (that made me gain weight up to 5kg overnight), giving the dreaded stretch marks on my thighs. No, it’s not mere case of PMS. (Probably why I looked like I was overweight all the time)

Researchers classify them as PMDD – Pre-menstrual Dysphonic Disorder. A severe case of PMS.


Dr. Mohamad Farouk Abdullah - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, President of the Obstetrical & Gynaecological Society of Malaysia

The whole PMDD episode would last for 1.5 weeks before my period comes, and then BAM! Period cramps.

SEVERE period cramps. Whereby I would, could, do nothing but lie in bed all day breaking cold sweats and cry.




Many of you readers have easily suggested that you’re getting tired of my period complaints on my blog, without much sympathy I feel sometimes :(, what do you think I’d feel as a victim to all these pain and torture the past few years of my life? Don’t you think I get tired of it too? 10 times worse even. :(




When I was given recommended for a new 24/4 OC pill two months ago, like a million other rather conservative ladies out there, I laughed and politely turned it down, thinking that I didn’t need something as “controversial” as contraceptive pills.

Having one is like a billboard advertising to people I lead an active sexual lifestyle (whether I have it or not, and you will never know), how embarrassing is that?!

Little did I know back then that my PMDD/PMS CAN BE CONTROLLED by a mere pill.




By the time I was sat down and carefully explained these pills could help improve my life, I gave it a try and within the first two weeks…

And I know this is going to sound cheesy…

MY WHOLE LIFE CHANGED.

Gone were the days of my water retention problem, good riddance with dehydrating pills, no more charcoal pills for bloating, and thank heavens, I’ve never felt SO DAMN HAPPY for so many days before!

I’m not saying this is a definite case for all of the girls out there, afterall, it is meds and sometimes, sadly, it will have side effect or no effect to a small number of people. Perhaps 5% of the consumers will find the pills having no effect on them at all. It was my initial concern.

“What if I’m never going to find a remedy for my PMS days.”

“What if I can never get rid of suicidal thoughts and stretch marks caused by water retention?”

“What if….” this, “What if” that…

But I WAS the LUCKY 95%!! YAY!!! CURED from PMS! NO side effect.

Which was why I have never felt prouder to be the Ambassador for a campaign organized by Bayer Schering Pharma, YAZ, the latest 24/4 regimen with drospirenone has certainly turned my world upside down (for the better), revolutionize my daily living, and empowered women. (okay why does this suddenly sounds like some beauty pageant speech, but it’s true ok! I know I’m cheesy, sue me)




Okay. Let’s put it this way,

There are 200,000 women worldwide everyday have unplanned pregnancies; and everyday, 126,000 women go through abortion. In Malaysia, 38 out of 1000 women aged between 15 and 49 years old have abortion every year.

And with the recent case in Malaysia, baby dumping issue has just gone out of proportion that it has captured the attention of the media and nation.

Instead of blaming on pornography for the sole cause of these issues, why not instead educate ourselves and others about the benefit of safe sex? Yes, I Can campaign seeks to educate women to take charge of their own body and reproduction choices.

We all know you can never stop teenagers and young adults from acknowledging their raging hormones; it’s like trying to stop a bird from growing up and tie its wings so it would not fly.


Together with Deborah Henry, who will be spreading her good words and thoughts to local universities,







And Julie Woon, do you remember her from Blogger Boy the tv show?




We represent Yes, I Can campaign to educate women in Malaysia that YES, there is a CHOICE.
YES, we can help make approaching the “sex subject’ a little easier.
YES, you can help spread the word on prevention of unplanned pregnancies.
YES, Malaysian women and even men as well can now make a more informed and inspired decision over the contraceptive options available to address the rising cases of abandoned babies.
YES, I’ve overcome my uncertainties over oral contraceptive pills and have acquainted myself with YAZ.
YES, I can be in control of my life,
YES, I CAN.

Say NO to PMS.

Say NO to unplanned pregnancies.

Make a pledge in http://www.yesican.com.my/make-a-pledge.php, support the cause and help reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies, be educated in the various contraception methods available, and be responsible for your own sexual health.

Join the Yes, I Can Challenge. Write a proposal of 1000 words / less on how to address the issue of unplanned pregnancies, draw a poster and submit to the Yes, I Can website before 4pm 24th October and stand a chance to win RM10,000. (only for 18 years old and above)

Acquire a Yes, I Can car sticker like this

from pharmacies with Yes, I Can logo at the door like this,

register your car number at the website and wait to be spotted in Spot the Sticker Contest, four winners will be spotted every month up till end of Oct.

OC pill not only empowers women to decide when to have baby, whether in the case of being financially, mentally or physically ready. Study has also proven that the pill aids in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer, endometrium cancer, etc. Overall, it proves the quality of women’s life.


Say YES to a better lifestyle. Opt for a better choice and freedom like never before (you can interpret this in several ways *wink*).

I Look Good In Heels!

This was totally random but I felt that I had to blog about it.

A week ago, my baby said he has made reservation for dinner and asked me to dress up fancily for the night.

It was our 21st month together. *heart*

What an achievement considering how fleeting loves can be in KL these days.

I didn't know where he was about to bring me, and it wasn't everyday he can plan a good surprise, so I was surprised that he actually made effort without me finding out! Wow.




I've thrown on an orange dress and Aldo shoes (total love) and led my baby drove me out to town for an indulgence night.

Turned out he brought me to Sage, at Gardens.




Sage was a lovely restaurant, with a simple concept of a menu and pricing. Chef Daniel was lovely and willing to prepare anything out of the menu for us.

Halfway through dinner, I decided to head for the ladies. As I stood up and made my way towards the left side of the entrance, I walked passed a wall with a ceiling-tall mirror.

Instinctively, I looked at myself, in full view, in the mirror. Dress, shoes and all.

I thought my eyes were deceiving me initially, but i could have sworn I was looking at a figure with a paid slender legs, or rather, slender calves (it was a knee-length dress).

It took me 2 seconds to realize it was my own pair of legs I was looking at!

Now it wasn't the skinniest pair of legs I've ever seen, but growing up with a pair of thunder thighs (thanks mom for the gene) and thick-ass calves (thanks all the years of backpacking through cities and mountains), the reflection was showing me a pair of legs I never thought that I would own.

In fact, I wasn't even convinced at that point, you know how sometimes you walk to a mirror that actually showed a skinnier/elongated side of you than you really are, so I walked up further to another mirror ahead to confirm what I saw.

Still the same pair of legs I thought wasn't mine wearing my gorgeous golden Aldo shoes.

To the point that I even walked back to the entrance to stare at my legs in the dark reflection from the wine display shelves.

Before... O..M..G... set in.

My calves have considerably shrunk visually. All those visits to Marie France Bodyline have really paid off!




I still wasn't sure if it was just that day, or the heels, or the dress, but I loved the way my legs walked and looked that evening!


faster tweet about it


It was after the 5th visit to Marie France Bodyline that day.

And I was almost half way there. Finally, results were showing. I could not be happier!

That night, I allowed myself to indulge in a little bit of sin.




Perhaps not the wisest thing to do, but I was happy, really happy. 21st month and all.

The next day, I woke up with the jolliest mood and half-skipped myself when I stepped in to greet the lady at the front counter.




Marie France Bodyline.

Don't let me down now. ^^


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How good are we at estimating other people's drunkenness?

Sloshed, trollied, hammered, plastered. We've done a sterling job of inventing words for the inebriated state, but when it comes to judging from their behaviour how much a person has drunk, we could do (a lot) better. That's according to a review of the literature by US psychologist Steve Rubenzer.

We all have our trusted indices for judging other people's drunkenness. Perhaps it's when the eyeballs start floating about as if under the control of a clumsy puppeteer. Or maybe the effusive 'you know I love you' delivered with a trickle of dribble. However, the vast majority of studies find that lay people, police officers and bartenders are in fact hopeless at distinguishing a drunk person from a sober one, at least at moderate levels of intoxication. To take just one example, after watching drunk and sober people being interviewed and negotiating a stair case, bartenders rated them as slightly, moderately or very drunk with an accuracy of just 25 per cent.

It's a similar story when participants are equipped with more structured means of detecting drunkenness. One 1958 study, for example, found no relation between doctors' assessments of people's intoxication (based on pulse rate, general appearance, gait and mental status) and the subsequent performance of those people on a driving course.

Rubenzer also looked at the evidence for specific indicators of intoxication. Alcohol causes reddening of the eyes, the literature shows, but the association between intoxication level and onset or amount of redness is unreliable. Another indicator is smell. The more a person has drunk, the more likely that their breath will be judged by observers to smell of alcohol. However, this indicator is hampered by the lack of a scientific explanation (alcohol has no odour), not to mention the risk of contamination by food smells. Speech slowing and slurring is another sign of intoxication but people are only modestly accurate at using this as a measure. Predictably enough, impaired walking, the last of the specific indicators, tends to increase the more a person has drunk but it only becomes reliable at very high intoxication levels.

The review finishes by looking at established 'sobriety tests': Nystagmus (jerky eye movements when following a moving target); the Romberg (whether a person sways or falls when they stand, eyes closed, with their feet together, arms at their sides); the Finger to Nose; the Finger to Finger; Saying the Alphabet; and the Hand Pat (alternating between clapping with the palms and backs of hands). In summary, performance on these tests does tend to decline as alcohol intake increases but the evidence for this at lower levels of intoxication is mixed and false positives (sober people categorised as drunk) are a frequent occurrence.

'...[J]udging low to moderate levels of intoxication in strangers is a difficult task,' Rubenzer concludes. 'A variety of professions that might be expected to show substantial skill assessing intoxication do not. [And] no behavioural or physical sign has emerged that is consistently related to a specific level of blood alcohol concentration level without large variation among individuals, with the possible exception of nystagmus.'
_________________________________

Rubenzer, S. (2010). Judging intoxication. Behavioral Sciences & the Law DOI: 10.1002/bsl.935

Down for the count

I have been down for the count. I am trying very hard not to dwell on the fact that our getaway to the mountains was crushed by illness. The view from my bedroom was nice, after all. And the kids got to spend an inordinate amount of solo time with their grandparents. But I missed all of the hiking, biking, and mountain lakes that past years' visits have highlighted. And there's a reason why people have children in their 20's, 30's, or 40's and not in the grandparent years...thankfully my parents could go to their regular yoga class this morning for a brief zen period this morning since I am slowly able to re-enter the world of the living.

And then there's the whole cooking aspect. For the past 10 days I haven't cooked. At all. See, we have this unwritten rule around here: I arrive with the kids, for a nice long visit...I cook, my dad does the dishes and my mom exposes the kids to her love of art. Then as a family we hike, and bike, and play in streams and rivers. Bliss. Unless I am down for the count.

So, as far as kitchen things are concerned, I am living vicariously through a few of my favorite blogs. Without recipes of my own this week, I share a few of my favorite posts with you:

I do not know how she does it, but nienie puts out a spread to welcome the school year that you have to find inspiring (even if you're like me and know you could never pull something this put together off).

Susanna, over at paper oranges, who always sources the most amazing things found this fabulous sectioned plate (and you all know I love those sectioned plates for my kid's meals).

While I'm not a baker, Kelsey's recipes over at Naptime Chef just might inspire me if the fruit is still great when we head back East. This plum torte and this apricot-blueberry cake both just look amazing, don't they?

And then there's City Mama's Weekly Meal Planning... which is the reminder that I really need to knock this out of my system because starting next week it's back to reality without special grandparents to help cook and take such good care of my kids!

Duty Free Heaven - Harajuku and Victoria Secret!

Being a person who travels rather frequently, shopping in Duty Free has become one of my favourite past-time (literally, till boarding time arrives).




Walking through the rows of fragrances, thinking about the new fragrance you want on your man, or how he would thrill at the sight of a little goodie bag with his name on it when he comes to pick you up at the airport, or simply the idea of being surrounded by cheaper priced goods compare to outside where things are taxed.




But for me, it's more than that. Being also a fragrance freak (believe me, I lost count of the bottles of fragrances I have back home, 20? 30?), I love just so many brands of fragrances and how they would make me feel when I spray them on, shopping here it's more than my purse can bear.




Nina Ricci. Marc Jacobs (Flora! omg I love Flora, just love it). Davidoff (not on me). CK. Juicy Couture. DKNY. Victoria Secret. Issey Miyake. Anna Sui. Moschino. Ralph Lauren. Carolina Herrera. J. Lo. Versace..... it goes on forever.

And then my recent obsession...




Harajuku Lovers.

So damn cute ok! There are five figures standing on the bottles, there can never be a cuter perfume bottle than this.




I wanted to get the LOVE series. It's the hippie looking girl with yellow headband (two photos above), but I disliked the figure, it's so ugly. T_T


So I went to for the cutest girl instead. G series.




It smelt like vanilla cupcake and I could totally imagine myself wearing it on a casual day to lure my bf to come bite me. :p LOL jk (though he might)

But because I already got one 100ml bottle of Davidoff for him (Rm256, CHEAP!),




I'd thought I get a much small bottle for myself. Don't really want to bust my budget.




Despite the size. The one I got was only 10ml, where else the ones you saw on display were of 30ml. Mainly because most of the bottles were the girls instead of the actual perfume.

But I love it! Don't care!


Then you walked to the other side of the fragrance section, you'll come to the most intensive array of heaven display one can ONLY and ONLY find in airports.

The Chocolates duty free section.




Hallelujah.

It's like.. like... swimming through paradise, and the only thing separating you and them is a credit card.




Okay. I'm talking like a Rebecca Bloomwood. Haha. No I'm not a shopaholic, but I want to be (like, who doesn't, if one can afford).


Chocolates in Duty Free are mostly imported, like Cadbury, which would be why they're normally more expensive than Cadbury bars sold in local supermarket, but they taste so much better! God knows due to the milk in Australia or UK or what.




I used to love Ferraro Roche when I was young, but somehow I grew out of it, or perhaps thanks to all my aunties from UK and cousins from Australia who always brought a dozen of them back for us as kids. I just didn't fancy them so much anymore.

My new crave, is this.





Yes yes. I can hear a few people sounding in agreement in the distance. Who doesn't like Kinder Bueno, they're the most delicious thing ever! I never knew hazelnut could taste so nice in a snack.

Anyway, enough duty free shopping. I'm utterly broke.

Happy. But broke.

But Happy.

It was time to board the plane and leave Penang Airport behind.

On the way to the boarding gate, don't forget to stop by Hot & Roll for a quick bite while you wait for your turn to board.




I learnt about this franchise a year ago and would always get one whenever I have a chance to.

I love the Savoury Crispy Chicken and Cheese flavour, without the chili sauce, just the mayo. Thanks.



\


YUM!

Oh, and finally, I just took this photo last night when I got back home.

My winning purchase for the day!




Totaled up to RM700++. *gulp*

(noticed the Victoria Secret perfumes I said I would get on the way back? :D)

More Indulgence at Penang Airport

After three hours of shopping and running around the airport, I have to do a pit stop at the loo.


typical toilet camwhore


By the time I came out, I was hungry so I proceeded to the only place in Penang Airport where I can savour some local delicacies!




Located at the roadside outside the airport was Pinang Kopitiam.

Hah!

Don't say I never try Char Kuey Tiao while in Penang!




Behold! My Penang Char Kuey Tiao at the airport!




The boss was so nice he gave me staff price for the food, I didn't even ask for it.

Maybe he pity me for sitting there all alone eating. T_T




Penang airport is not as expansive as KLIA, but it has its own charm.




With beautiful lined corridor where the boarding gates lined at the international duty free.




Despite its limited space, there are quite a few fast food restaurant in Penang Airport, popular ones like McDonald.




Coffee Bean.




And a really swanky Kenny Rogers.




After a satisfying lunch, I went back to my shopping frenzy!

It was this moment I discovered my favourite shop in the entire whole airport, well, except for the Coach bag shop.




Called Dayana.

They sell bohemian style dresses and bangles and all sorts of accessories.




It was my first major purchase at the airport. This colorful adoring dress cost me RM89. Totally worth it!

Then I grabbed three bangles - two silvers and one bronze to pair with the dress.




And alas, just before I submit my credit card, I spotted something hanging on the side at the hats area.




A leopard print french beret!

OMG. I love beret! Especially one that fits my head. Which was rare.




Don't you think it kinda matches my outfit today too?


Anyway, by now I have spent enough to gain me a free RM10 voucher, as told by one of the cashier, who passed me a form to fill clipped with the receipt.




As long as you spend up to RM250 in a single or up to a combination of three receipts, you get a RM10 voucher to spend more!



Now I found out about this a little too late as I didn't manage to collect the other receipts (double copy, cause I wanted to keep one for myself) from the purchases I made in between so I only got the RM10 voucher when I was almost done the day.




Just as I was thinking what I should spend on with the RM10. A light bulb emerged.




I spent it on a GCB meal dinner at McDonald. Brilliant way to end the perfect day.

Though it was so insanely crowded during dinner time that I have to share a table with another guy. Love the chairs in the McDonalds here though, super comfy!




Then while eating I bit on my gum three times on the same spot. FML.

After dinner, I finally retreated to Coffee Bean to have some quiet time with the internet.

In the next post, I will share with you what I have bought at Duty Free. :D